This world of ours is in sorry shape. When your ears are filled with radio broadcasts about thieves and murders and saboteurs, and your eyes are filled with newspaper and television reports detailing the facts about the latest suicide bomber kidnapper, corrupt politician or dirty cop, it's hard not to despair. How do you find hope in such a world? How do you trust in such a God who allows such things to happen?
But what if we've been placing the blame on the wrong person? What if, instead of accusing everyone around us, and even God Himself, for the evils in our world, it's time to look inside of ourselves? In second Chronicles, God says that "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
I've often heard of evil described as nothing more than the absence of God. We live in a society in which the vast majority of its citizens profess Christianity. Why is it, then, that there is such a proliferation of evil in a supposedly "Christian" nation? The Bible says that we are temples of the holy spirit, that God inhabits the hearts and souls of those who claim His lordship. If that is the case, I ask again, why is there so much evil in our land? In a Christian nation, a nation whose citizens are supposed to be filled with God, why is there such a lack of Him?
God is a holy God, He is a just God, but He is not a vindictive God. He does not delight in needlessly tormenting the masses of squirming little humans that He can trap underneath His thumb. He must punish evil that occurs....but evil that is covered by the blood of Jesus, He will wash away and never think of it again.
So, could it be, that the reason our country is in such a sorry mess is because we as Christians have failed to call upon His name? We have failed to humble ourselves, failed to pray and seek His face, failed to turn from our wicked ways, and because of that our world has become sick. Desperately sick. But it's not too late! God is the Great Physician, He can heal all wounds, whether they be physical, spiritual, or something else. Imagine what would happen if we, as a nation of Christians, began to stand up and actually take hold of the promises that He has made to us! It would be revolutionary, world-changing, history-making. But here's the best part. We don't have to imagine it. We can see it, with our own eyes. Start today. Start with you. Humble yourself and call on His name - don't just call on it for your salvation, but call on it for you life, here on earth. Call on Him for your friends, your family, and everything that you hold dear. Because He can - and desperately wants - to heal our land. All He's waiting on is for us to ask Him.
But what if we've been placing the blame on the wrong person? What if, instead of accusing everyone around us, and even God Himself, for the evils in our world, it's time to look inside of ourselves? In second Chronicles, God says that "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
I've often heard of evil described as nothing more than the absence of God. We live in a society in which the vast majority of its citizens profess Christianity. Why is it, then, that there is such a proliferation of evil in a supposedly "Christian" nation? The Bible says that we are temples of the holy spirit, that God inhabits the hearts and souls of those who claim His lordship. If that is the case, I ask again, why is there so much evil in our land? In a Christian nation, a nation whose citizens are supposed to be filled with God, why is there such a lack of Him?
God is a holy God, He is a just God, but He is not a vindictive God. He does not delight in needlessly tormenting the masses of squirming little humans that He can trap underneath His thumb. He must punish evil that occurs....but evil that is covered by the blood of Jesus, He will wash away and never think of it again.
So, could it be, that the reason our country is in such a sorry mess is because we as Christians have failed to call upon His name? We have failed to humble ourselves, failed to pray and seek His face, failed to turn from our wicked ways, and because of that our world has become sick. Desperately sick. But it's not too late! God is the Great Physician, He can heal all wounds, whether they be physical, spiritual, or something else. Imagine what would happen if we, as a nation of Christians, began to stand up and actually take hold of the promises that He has made to us! It would be revolutionary, world-changing, history-making. But here's the best part. We don't have to imagine it. We can see it, with our own eyes. Start today. Start with you. Humble yourself and call on His name - don't just call on it for your salvation, but call on it for you life, here on earth. Call on Him for your friends, your family, and everything that you hold dear. Because He can - and desperately wants - to heal our land. All He's waiting on is for us to ask Him.
2 Chronicles 7:13-16
13 “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. 16 I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.
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